How you feel about Nicholas Stoller‘s The Five-Year Engagement may depend on what you’re expecting. Those looking for another instant classic from producer Judd Apatow and his circle will likely be disappointed, as the new comedy proves too inconsistent to hold up against the likes of The 40-Year-Old Virgin or even Stoller’s own Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Those simply hoping for a pleasant romantic comedy with likable stars, however, will probably find that The Five-Year Engagement surpasses those standards thanks to a seriously charming lead couple (Jason Segel and Emily Blunt), and a handful of very funny gags.

The cast of Stuart Zicherman‘s A.C.O.D. just keeps getting better. Mary Elizabeth Winstead has just joined Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, and Jane Lynch in the comedy, which centers around around thirtysomething Carter (Scott). When his younger brother gets engaged, Carter must try and keep the peace between his long-divorced parents lest they ruin the wedding. Winstead is set to play Lauren Stinger, Carter’s supportive longtime girlfriend.

Winstead drew raves at Sundance earlier this year for her turn in James Ponsoldt’s Smashed, and has A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter due out later this year. [Deadline]

Now that her hit Disney series Wizards of Waverly Place has come to an end, Selena Gomez has been trying to make the transition into non-Disney movies with projects ranging from last year’s Monte Carlo to the upcoming Harmony Korine-directed Spring Breakers. The latest addition to her slate is The Sky is Everywhere, an adaptation of Jandy Nelson‘s YA romance of the same title. Gomez will produce the film through her shingle July Moon, developing it as a star vehicle for herself.

The plot follows Lennie, an introverted band geek who’s used to being overshadowed by her much more outgoing older sister Bailey. When Bailey suddenly dies, however, Lennie struggles to cope and soon finds herself torn between two guys: her dead sister’s boyfriend Toby and a charismatic, musically gifted new boy named Joe. The teen love triangle is nothing new, but the book’s received pretty good reviews; if the film version actually brings some nuance to the tearjerker premise, it could be a chance for Gomez to show what she can do. [Deadline]

I’m not going to assume that this is true for everyone, but I think a lot of people in my generation and the one or two that follow me have had the “it’s just different now” marriage conversation with some elder family members. For many couples, it takes a lot longer to get to the point where marriage seems like the best step to take, and even after getting engaged, the path to the altar isn’t always a short one.

So here are Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel, the team behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the co-writers of The Muppets, to toy with that generational attitude towards marriage in The Five-Year Engagement. Based on this new trailer, the film appears to take a gently comic approach to telling the story of a couple (Segel and Emily Blunt) whose nuptials are continually preempted by other life events. Check it out below. Read More »

I wasn’t planning to write about Gallery1988’s first annual “Is This Thing On” art show as it really has little connection to movies or television (or so I thought… the above piece featuring Judd Apatow mashed-up with the infamous Star Trek Tribbles episode is a fine example of this). The show, co-sponsored by FunnyOrDie, features over 100 artists, each creating pieces that are portraits of their favorite funny people, both beloved comics of yesteryear and emerging superstars.

Rob Zombie‘s $10 million, hard-R animated film, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, is headed straight-to-DVD next month via Anchor Bay. Zombie previously discussed the politics involved and the theatrical set-backs with /Film; outfitted with a voice-cast that includes Paul Giamatti (as villain Dr. Satan), Rosario Dawson, Brian Posehn, and Danny Trejo, we remain as bewildered over the prolonged release limbo as he was. And apparently a teaser trailer was issued for Beasto earlier this season, but today is the first we’ve screened it. Co-written and -directed by Mr. Lawrence (SpongeBob, Rocco’s Modern Life), the professional style of the animation and overall sinister-pop sensibility is fluid and appealing and seems a natural inclusion for Halloween marathons (and Clint Howard cos-play fiestas). Update: Zombie has revealed to STYD that his ’70s-action film, Tyrannosaurus Rex, is once again off development cinder blocks and slated to be his follow-up to the forthcoming Halloween 2. Score one for the non-remakes.

What would happen to your brain and body if you smoked good weed for 30 days straight? That is the premise of comedian Doug Benson‘s Morgan Spurlock-one-upping documentary Super High Me. The film is currently showing at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, and while Peter hasn’t seen it, reviews thus far have been favorable, with many expressing respect for the extensive tests Benson puts himself through. He even, uh, went weed-sober for 30 days before the wake-and-bake trials started.